Archives for category: Education Reform
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Peter Greene Asks: Is Bill Gates America’s Dumbest Smart Person?

By dianeravitch
March 7, 2018 //
192

 

Bill and Melinda Gates release an annual letter, updating the public about their activities.

In this post, Peter Greene reviews their latest annual report and is struck by how blind they are to their mistakes. 

He notices two constant features:

1) He is almost always wrong.

2) He never learns anything.

“If we look at last fall’s speech (both the pre-speech PR and the actual edited-down version he delivered), we can see that Gates knows he’s supposed to be learning things, that a shift in direction and emphasis needs to look like a pivot based on a learning curve, and not just flailing off blindly in another direction because the previous flails didn’t turn out like you hoped (against all evidence and advice) they would.

“What looks on the surface like an admission of failure turns out to be an assignment of blame. Small schools, teacher evaluation, merit pay, and the ever-unloved Common Core have all been a bust, and yet somehow, their failure is never the result of a flawed design, a bad concept, or being flat-out wrong about the whole picture. What Gates invariably announces he’s “learned” is that he was basically correct, but he underestimated just how unready people were to welcome his rightness, and he needs to tweak a few features.

“So Tough Question #2 was “What do you have to show for the billions you’ve spent on U.S. education?” And his short answer is “A lot, but not as much as either of us would like.”

“This is classic Gates. “The Zune was a huge success, but we needed to tweak the matter of customers not wanting to buy them.” “Mrs. Lincoln thought the play was a triumph, but we might need to tweak that last part a bit.”

 

Categories Education Reform, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Stupid

John Thompson: Oklahoma Teachers Planning Walkout

By dianeravitch
March 7, 2018 //
9

 

John Thompson writes here about the latest from Oklahoma. Some teachers wanted a statewide strike, like West Virginia. The most militant wanted a strike beginning April 2, coinciding with testing season.

However the Oklahoma Education Association moved back the date to give the legislature more time to act.

Thompson writes:

“Heather Reed, a teacher at OKC’s Lee Elementary School, organized the Moore meeting of three-dozen teachers. She said April 2 would be a good strike date because such timing “might hurt the most.”

“But Tuesday, the Oklahoma Education Association announced an April 23 deadline with other details of their plan, as reported by Felder of The Oklahoman:

“(Executive director David) DuVall said the OEA is going to ask the Legislature to approve at least a $10,000 pay raise that could be funded over three years. The OEA also plans to ask for increased funding for school operations.

“We plan to present a revenue plan (on Thursday) to fund it,” DuVall said.

Thompson writes:

“I agree with an April deadline. The suspension of school as the bubble-in testing season begins would be win-win. If we’re going to improve our schools, sooner or later teachers will have to shut them down. The best time is when most students would not be learning anything worthwhile.”

The OEA seems determined to cool down the hotheads and risk losing momentum.

If the Janus decision goes against unions, as most people predict, the employers will miss them because there will be no intermediary to stop the wildcat strikes. Or turn a strike into a walkout.

Categories Education Reform

Jan Resseger on the West Virginia Teachers Strike

By dianeravitch
March 6, 2018 //
15

 

Jan Resseger writes about the West Virginia teachers strike here. Every teacher in 55 counties is out on strike. Strikes as sweeping as this are rare. If the Janus decision cripples Unions, there may be more wildcat strikes like this one, not less. You can oppress working people so much but they have no choice but to organize and fight back.

Categories Education Reform

Tom Ultican: California School Administrators Endorse Favorite of Billionaire Boys Club

By dianeravitch
March 6, 2018 //
8

 

As retired high school teacher Tom Ultican writes: This makes no sense.

The California Association of School Administrators endorsed Marshall Tuck, the candidate of the privatization movement, in the race for State Superintendent of Instruction, and snubbed Tony Thurmond, a steadfast friend of public education.

The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Back-Stabs Public Education

Read his post to see where Tuck’s money comes from.  It’s the Destroy Public Education Movement.

The old familiar faces. Walton, Broad, Jobs,Hastings, Fischer.  And more that you will recognize.

I urge my friends in California to vote for Tony Thurmond. He supports public schools, and we should support him.

 

 

Categories Billionaires, California, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Education Reform, Privatization, Supporting public schools

Gary Rubinstein: Where Have the Reform Stars of Yesteryear Gone?

By dianeravitch
March 5, 2018 //
12

 

Gary Rubinstein admits that he misses the big names of reform whose stars have flickered out: Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein, Arne Duncan, Cami Anderson, and those others whose words could be picked apart and ridiculed.

Gary says the successors to the golden oldies are not nearly as much fun. He explains by quoting at length from the current leader of Teach for America, whose prose is flat, bland, and blah. She even quotes George W. Bush on the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” How low can you go? Well, maybe some day she will quote Donald J. Trump to inspire the troops.

He writes:

“The disappearance of the reform rock stars and replacement by this new breed of bland understudies was a first step in the collapse of the reform movement. Trump and DeVos surely have not helped Democrats continue to embrace ‘school choice’ as a viable solution. Then, you knew it had to happen eventually, Bill Gates recently came out and admitted that teacher evaluation reform didn’t work as well as he had predicted so he is going to instead work on curriculum development. Whether or not the reform movement is merely ‘playing possum’ right now and playing dead while really planning their next wave of attack (some are giddy about the upcoming Janus Supreme Court case), I suppose we will find out in the years to come.”

 

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Duncan, Arne, Education Industry, Education Reform, Klein, Joel, Privatization, Rhee, Michelle, Teach for America

This 14-Year-Old Aspired to Kill Scores of Children and Teachers, But…

By dianeravitch
March 4, 2018 //
79

 

Please read this chilling story in the Washington Post about Jesse Osborne, who wanted to go down in history as the school shooter who killed more people than the killers at Columbine or Sandy Hook. You can read it here for free, where it is not behind a paywall. 

He spent many hours on the Internet reading about mass murders and idolizing the murderers.

He wanted to use his dad’s semi-automatic but he didn’t have the combination to his dad’s gun safe. So he took his dad’s 40-caliber pistol, killed his dad, and headed to the local elementary school in South Carolina that he had attended, There he killed a six-year-old on the playground, but his gun jammed and he was taken down by a volunteer foreman.

Ironically, his father’s semi-automatic was not locked in the safe. If Jesse had been able to bring it to the elementary school, he would have achieved his goal of being the biggest mass murderer of them all.

Jesse is 16 now. He recently had a hearing. The judge has to decide whether to try him as a juvenile or an adult. If tried as a juvenile, he will be free at the age of 21.

What kind of society breeds such sociopaths?

Think of the mayhem he would have caused if he had been able to get his dad’s semi-automatic. He dreamed of killing scores of people. He wanted to be famous.

If he is ever freed, he should be a keynote speaker at the NRA annual meeting. There’s only one hitch: the NRA does not allow guns into its meetings. Sad.

Categories Education Reform

Florida: Senate Approves Bill to Punish Teachers’ Union

By dianeravitch
March 4, 2018 //
31

 

At a time when teachers in Parkland proved that they are braver than armed guards, the Florida Senate struck a blow at the union that represents the state’s teachers. One senses the ugly hands of Jeb Bush and his consigliere, Patricia Levesque, behind the scenes.

“The Senate on Friday narrowly defeated an effort to eliminate part of a major education bill that could force teachers’ unions to disband if they don’t meet new membership standards.

“In a 21-17 vote, the Senate rejected a proposed amendment by Sen. Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, that would have removed the controversial provision from the bill (HB 7055). The provision could cause teachers’ unions to lose their state certification if their membership falls below 50 percent of the employees they represent in the collective-bargaining process. If decertified, a union would have to reorganize and seek another majority vote from the members they are seeking to represent.

“Thurston said the provision was singling out teachers among all unions and that there is already a decertification process in state law that would allow teachers to disband a union if they were unhappy with the representation.

“It’s not right that we say teachers are the only ones we are going to punish,” Thurston said.”

Maybe it is time for a statewide teachers strike in Florida.

The articulate students at Parkland should speak out for the teachers who saved their lives. Name the bill for the teachers who lost their lives shielding students.

Start a fund to defeat the senators who voted for this bill. I want to contribute.

This is an outrage.

 

 

 

Categories Education Reform, Florida, Teachers, Unions

National Education Policy Center: How to Give All Children a Chance to Succeed

By dianeravitch
March 3, 2018 //
20

The National Education Policy Center released a video about “Schools of Opportunity.” The video highlights schools that support students instead of penalizing them. It was viewed almost 200,000 times within 24 hours.

You should watch it too.

In Less than a Day, New #SchoolsofOpportunity Video Has Been Viewed 190,000 Times

Key Takeaway: Please watch and share the new Schools of Opportunity video and the 2018 Application.
Facebook Twitter Email
Find Documents:
Press Release: http://nepc.info/node/9077
Watch Video: http://schoolsofopportunity.org
Contact:
Michelle Renée Valladares: (720) 505-1958, michelle.valladares@colorado.edu
Adam York: (303) 735-5290, adam.j.york@colorado.edu

Learn More:

NEPC Resources on Schools of Opportunity

BOULDER, CO (March 1, 2018) – For more than 25 million children, the connection between education and the American Dream is eroding, but a new video is shining a spotlight on schools closing the opportunity gap.

The two-minute video tells the story of how students benefit when they have access to much-needed educational and social supports. “It puts a face on the students whose lives change when they get access to Schools of Opportunity,” said Michelle Renée Valladares, NEPC Associate Director.

To date, 45 schools have been recognized by the National Education Policy Center’s Schools of Opportunity program. These schools provide rich, engaging opportunities to learn for all their students, often helping those students overcome obstacles linked to poverty and racism in our larger society. One of this year’s honorees—Seaside High School—is highlighted in the video.

The video introduces us to Dayshaun, a young man whose drop in school performance might have resulted in sanctions and lowered expectations at other schools. Instead we learn how systemic supports at Seaside helped him get through the immense challenge of his mother falling ill. Because of that support, Dayshaun is now a school leader.

The Schools of Opportunity project was born out of the research-based fundamental truth that students learn more when they have rich opportunities to learn; when denied those opportunities they fall behind. The opportunity gap then drives the achievement disparities between students who come from well-resourced communities and those from economically and socially marginalized communities.

“The Schools of Opportunity project offers a positive vision of what school quality and school improvement can look like,” says CU Boulder Professor Kevin Welner, who directs the NEPC. “This project highlights an alternative to judging schools based on test scores.”

This video “sparks our imaginations about what our high schools can be,” says Welner. “We hope it reaches educators and school leaders throughout the country, as we all learn from the 45 exemplary schools we’ve recognized to date. Please watch, share and let us know what you think.”

The video is a product of ATTN:, an issues-driven media company, and The Partnership for the Future of Learning, a network of educators, advocates, leaders, and supporters dedicated to an affirmative, equitable, evidence-based vision of a remodeled education system.

NEPC is scouting for the next round of schools to lift up through the Schools of Opportunity Program. Schools can apply for recognition directly, or others can nominate them. Applications are welcomed until April 9, 2018. Information and forms are available online at: http://www.SchoolsofOpportunity.org.

Sharing Information

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BfwF27Og0LE/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/attn/status/968922751502290945
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/attn/videos/1674665095902276/
Tweetables

New @attn video with @NEPCtweet shows how every student can learn with the right tools and supports. https://twitter.com/attn/status/968922751502290945 #schoolsofopportunity

You shouldn’t need rich parents to get an education in this country. These @NEPCtweet #SchoolsofOpportunity are showing how it’s done in a new @attn video. https://twitter.com/attn/status/968922751502290945

All students can learn and achieve with the right supports. New video highlights how these #SchoolsofOpportunity are making it happen. https://twitter.com/attn/status/968922751502290945
You can judge a school based on test scores, or you can watch what happens when #SchoolsofOpportunity give every student a shot at success. New @attn video with @NEPCtweet. https://twitter.com/attn/status/968922751502290945

 

Categories Education Reform, Equity, National Education Policy Center

California: New Report Documents Systemic Waste and Fraud in Charter Industry

By dianeravitch
March 2, 2018 //
12

 

A new report from the California-based nonpartisan group “In the Public Interest” documents systemic fraud and waste in California’s charter schools

Public funding of California’s charter schools now tops $6 billion annually. ITPH finds that, despite this substantial investment, governments at all levels remain unable to proactively monitor the private groups that operate charter schools for fraud and waste.

In the report, Fraud and waste in California’s charter schools, In the Public Interest reveals that total alleged and confirmed fraud and waste in California’s charter schools has reached over $149 million. Yet this is likely only the tip of the iceberg, as the state lacks the oversight necessary to proactively identify fraud and waste.

The report highlights several instances of fraud and waste, such as:

The entrenched culture of self-dealing at the Bay Area’s Tri-Valley Learning Corporation, whose CEO misappropriated tax-exempt public bonds totaling over $67 million.

The founder of Celerity Education Group who allegedly used public funding for personal expenses, including nearly $1,700 on meals at restaurants in one month in 2013 alone.

The recent spectacle at Partnerships to Uplift Communities, in which cofounder and former director—and current Los Angeles school board member—Ref Rodriguez, allegedly authorized $285,000 in payments to nonprofit organizations he oversaw during his tenure.

Fraud and waste in California’s charter schools also includes an analysis of flaws in existing oversight, recommendations for reform, and an appendix of instances of fraud and abuse from 1997 through 2017.

In the Public Interest is a nonprofit research and policy center committed to promoting the values, vision, and agenda for the common good and democratic control of public goods and services.

Categories Accountability, Education Industry, Education Reform, Fraud, Privatization

Jan Resseger: What Linda Darling-Hammond Wrote about the Kerner Commission Report Today

By dianeravitch
March 1, 2018 //
27

 

Jan Resseger summarizes Linda Darling-Hammond’s reflections on the Kerner Commission Report. 

“Darling-Hammond traces a mass of factors showing that as a society we identified the wrong problem, satisfied ourselves with blaming somebody, and ignored our responsibility collectively to confront primary social injustices that are the real cause of achievement gaps. What we accomplished instead was discrediting public education and undermining support for teachers.

“Darling-Hammond believes our problem is that we have stopped trying to do anything about racial and economic segregation: “In a study of the effects of court-ordered desegregation on students born between 1945 and 1970, economist Rucker Johnson found that graduation rates climbed by 2 percentage points for every year a Black student attended an integrated school… The difference was tied to the fact that schools under court supervision benefit from higher per-pupil spending and smaller student-teacher ratios… During the 1960s and ’70s, many communities took on efforts like these. As a result, there was a noticeable reduction in educational inequality in the decade after the original Kerner report…. (S)ubstantial gains were made in equalizing both educational inputs and outcomes. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 targeted resources to communities with the most need, recognizing that where a child grows up should not determine where he or she ends up… However, the gains from the Great Society programs were pushed back during the Reagan administration, when most targeted federal programs supporting investments in college access and K-12 schools in urban and poor rural areas were reduced or eliminated, and federal aid to schools was cut from 12% to 6% of a shrinking total…By 1991, stark differences had reemerged between segregated urban schools and their suburban counterparts, which generally spent twice as much on education.”

Categories Accountability, Civil Rights, Education Reform
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